From Wombat

A little stunned, Harry blinked up at the sky, and then at the creature which had apparently fallen onto him from a great height. His heart sank at the sight of rotund bird, which croaked amiably at him.

Muggles believed that diricawls, or dodos as they were known in the Muggle world, were extinct, although the truth was that they had simply learned to hide themselves magically. It would cause no little comment for one to appear in suburban Surrey, more to the point it would probably cause Harry to be locked in his room for the rest of the summer.

"You shouldn't be here!" Harry exclaimed, jolted out of his daze. He pulled himself rapidly to his feet. "Where did you come from? You can't even fly!" When a furtive glance around the street revealed nothing more threatening than a dozing cat, he snatched up the black rubbish bag he'd been tasked to fill with weeds.

The diricawl snuffled in one of Aunt Petunia's shrubs, then let out a piercing shriek as Harry scooped the bag over its head and snatched it up. It was surprisingly heavy, and kicked violently at his chest.

"What's that noise, boy?" came the shout from inside where Uncle Vernon was watching Match of the Day.

"Nothing, Uncle Vernon!" Harry called back, clutching the Diricawl's beak through the rubbish. He looked desperately around for somewhere to dispose of the creature.

His deliverance came just a few seconds later, although from an unexpected and unwelcome quarter. Lurching around the corner, apparently in first gear, came a large and very battered black car. It appeared to have been involved in several collisions along the way and Harry gritted his teeth as it scraped all the way along the side of Aunt Petunia's precious Mini Metro before coming to a halt.

"If you remain here, everything will be destroyed," Snape snapped back through gritted teeth. "Don't just stand there, you wretched boy! The Fidelus charm that protected you here has been broken. Arabella Figg has disappeared."

The wind was picking up. A second diricawl plummeted from the sky and lay motionless on the ground, stunned or dead. A third crashed into the bushes, then a fourth onto the roof.

Harry shook his head to clear it. It didn't help much. "Mrs Figg? With all the cats? From down the road?"

Snape drew a frustrated breath. "Arabella Figg has been protecting your worthless hide for the past 14 years. Unfortunately she has gone missing and magic doesn't appear to work here any more which is why that miserable creature can no longer hide itself and which is why I am driving this miserable contrivance. If you think the boy who lived will have any more luck than the rest of us, then feel free to apparate yourself to safety. Otherwise get in!"

"Boy? Boy!" Harry heard his uncle bellow from inside the house. Still grasping the diricawl tightly to his body, he made his decision and scrambled into the car.